


is this your cat?

by capt_snoozles



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Bending (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Momo is a little shit, Swearing, Trans Zuko (Avatar), appa is a dog, momo is a cat, zukka as cat dads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29373111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capt_snoozles/pseuds/capt_snoozles
Summary: "How's this: 'Is this your cat? If you think he might be, please contact me at xxxx xxx xxx. I will be quizzing you to make sure he’s yours, until then he is being looked after.'" Zuko looked up from his laptop, watching as Momo paused in washing his ears to offer a short mrrp. He nodded to himself, reaching down to grab his phone from the floor. "Awesome.""Now, stay still." He muttered a moment later, waiting for Momo to actually look at him and quickly taking a few photos before he moved again. "Thanks."-OR: Zuko helps a cat and now has to find his owner.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this will only be a short fic (:

It was summer and Zuko revelled in the heat, sprawled out across his mattress in his pyjama shorts and baggy shirt with his covers kicked so far off they were half-rumpled on the floor. He tended to sleep best in warm weather, when all of his energy wasn’t going into trying to conserve his body heat.

Naturally, he was confused when he woke up to a dark room, strands of dark hair having slipped out of the hair tie holding it back and sticking to his neck. He made a confused noise, rubbing at his face sleepily and scooping his bangs out of the way before looking at the radio on his dresser.

2:46am. 

With a groan, the man dropped his head into his pillow, confused and sleepy and wondering why he was awake at such an ungodly hour. And then he heard it. An odd strangled moan from somewhere in his apartment.

Zuko froze, taking a few moments to listen before carefully lifting his head and turning his gaze to the door. With minimal light and only one working eye, it took him a second to confirm that it was closed and he took a deep breath before slowly pushing himself up onto his knees and maneuvering off his bed. 

Despite the heat, he scooped a hoodie off the floor, the fabric warm and heavy in his hands as he paused to listen. Nothing, no repeats of the odd sound that had coaxed him out of bed. He slipped the hoodie over his head, tugging at the bottom of it and readjusting the hood before pressing himself close to the wall and reaching out for his door handle. 

It swung open easily, for once, Zuko hidden carefully behind it before peeking around the edge. Again, nothing, just soft darkness and the hum of electricity.

Still, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep without investigating so he slipped through the gap in his door and into the hallway, resembling more of a shadow than a person. Finally, poised at the corner before the living area, he heard it again.

An odd scratching and a strange warble. 

Warmth climbed through Zuko’s arms, his hands glowing with trapped fire as he instinctively prepared for the worst. It came again, from the window above his kitchen sink and he slunk forward, the soft smell of singed fabric drifting up from his sleeves.

The scratching came again, but this time it was accompanied by a more recognisable sound and Zuko felt himself pause, surprise blooming in his chest before he crept forward the last few feet and leaned across the sink to pull up the blinds.

A cat was laying on his window sill, illuminated by the streetlight outside and scratching at the glass, meowing oddly. The cat was familiar, he came around pretty regularly in the evening and kept Zuko company until it got late at night. He was black and white, with adorable panda markings over his eyes and ears too big for his head. Zuko had first seen him a few months ago and, assuming he was a stray, had left food out for him. 

Eventually he noticed the collar and felt bad, but Momo - as the collar had informed him - kept coming back and Zuko was man-enough to admit that the cat was his only friend, so he let him stick around.

It was unusual though, for Momo to be here so late.

Carefully, and trying to ignore the flicker of concern in his belly, Zuko pulled the latch and slid the window open, reaching his hand out and rubbing his fingers together. He made a soft kissy noise and murmured softly when Momo limped towards the opening. “Hey puss-puss.” He greeted, gently lifting the cat into his arms. He mewled and Zuko’s heart softened as he pushed the window back closed.

“What have you been up to, hm?” He wondered, reaching around to flick the lights on. He blinked against the sudden brightness and then set Momo down on the counter to check why he was limping. In natural cat-fashion, Momo turned to liquid beneath his hands and he spent about five minutes just trying to keep him still.

“Momo- c’mon dude, work with me here-” Momo meowed in response, biting lightly at Zuko’s fingers. Zuko didn’t take it personally, he didn’t like being manhandled either. “I know, I know but you woke me up! So just sit still for, like, a second.”

Eventually he determined that Momo had hurt his back leg somehow, he wouldn’t let the paw touch the counter top and his hip seemed to be sticking out a little more than what should be usual. Zuko bit his lip and slid his finger around the collar until he found the name tag; he flipped it and sighed. No number or address.

“Guess it’s just me and you buddy, I’ll call the vet in the morning.” He promised, scratching around the cat's ears as an apology for the way he’d been holding him. Momo chirped and something in Zuko melted, the withdrawn teenager pulling the cat back into his arms, mindful of the injured leg as he flicked the lights back off.

Carefully, he put the cat down on the end of his bed and crawled towards his pillows, flopping onto his tummy and sighing deeply. He was tired, and a little too hot, and concerned about the cat that was now hobbling up to his end of the bed. Momo was purring, his body rumbling softly as he gingerly curled up against Zuko’s shoulder.

Zuko smiled and tried to get comfy without jostling the feline too much, feeling his eyes droop closed as soft vibrations pressed against his arm.


	2. Chapter 2

Zuko had spent the better half of his morning trying to wrangle Momo into a cardboard box for the drive to the vet, and then had to sit in an uncomfortable plastic chair with a squirming cat in his arms and a lady shooting him weird looks from the other side of the waiting room. 

Whether it was his overall aesthetic, his scar, or the fact that he was just straight up holding Momo (he’d eaten his way out of the box by the time they parked) Zuko had no idea, but she was quick to look away when he’d pointedly exhaled smoke from his nose in annoyance.

Apparently Momo had just sprained his leg, which was a relief- and the odd way his hip was sticking out was the result of an old injury, “Probably a car accident,” the vet had said.

After paying the vet bill and wondering whether he should keep the receipt to give to Momo’s owner, Zuko wound up back at home, laying on the couch and watching Momo hobble around in his little leg brace. Apparently he wasn’t supposed to go outside until his leg was better so Zuko had added cat supplies onto his shopping list.

It wasn’t until he was standing in the pet aisle, decked out in his ripped jeans and the black tank top he’d slept in, staring at all of the different brands in defeat, that Zuko realised he didn’t know what he was doing.

Was he supposed to get him wet food or just the biscuits? And how old was Momo anyway, did he eat adult food or kitten food? Zuko usually just fed him scraps of meat when he came by. And what the fuck was ‘recycleable kitty litter’? Feeling a familiar irritation spark in his belly, he tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down, reminding himself that it probably didn’t matter, he’d watched Momo eat a rock a week ago for fucks sake.

Exhaling sparks he muttered a soft “fuck this” before grabbing a random bag of cheap cat biscuits, dropping them in the basket looped over his arm, and putting a small-ish bag of litter in beside it. The rest of his shopping was uneventful, until he was randomly attacked in the freezer aisle. 

He’d barely registered the flash of orange as it appeared from his blind side, followed by a rush of air, before the door swung open and met his face with a nice  _ smack _ , and he stumbled back half a step, blinking through the burning in his nose. There were scorch marks on the glass, likely from whatever noise of pain he’d made, and Zuko briefly felt bad for whoever would have to clean that.

“I’m so sorry!” Someone was saying, his grey eyes wide with alarm as he flailed his arms. He was wearing a warm yellow shirt with a light blue flannel tied around his waist, looking as physically apologetic as humanely possibly.

Zuko just made an annoyed sound, rubbing his face before cutting a glare at the shorter boy and brushing past him. Ignoring the crestfallen look that followed.

He ended up running into him again at the checkout, Zuko valiantly attempting to ignore the stare trained at his scar while he lifted bread onto the counter beside the cat biscuits and his iced coffee. ‘Running into’ was probably the wrong choice of words, the guy practically appeared out of nowhere in a flurry of cold air and apologetic excitement.

“You again!” He beamed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Zuko nodded wearily and put a box of cereal beside the bread.

“I’m really sorry about the thing with the fridge, are you okay?” He seemed genuine enough, his hands fiddling with each other like he didn’t know how to stand still. He had a bracelet around his wrist, one of those braided ones with the lettered beads. Zuko thought he might have seen the letters  _ K-A, _ before he handed over his card with a strained smile, shrugging and dropping his gaze to the other boys. 

“Not the worst my face has been through, I think I’ll live.” He drawled, pretending not to notice the way the boy’s eyes flicked to the left side of his face.

A girl appeared at his side, brown hair braided and wearing a blue dress. She had a similar bracelet wrapped around her wrist, the yellow thread standing out against her dark skin. “Aang, you totally abandoned me back there!” She scolded, dragging him into an affectionate bickering match.

Zuko slid his card back into his phone case and then grabbed his bags, slipping away and waving awkwardly when ‘Aang’ called out a surprisingly enthusiastic goodbye. 

He shook the encounter off on his walk home, and instead focused on how he was going to find Momo’s owner. He figured he’d go the old-fashioned way, and make posters and then just hope that they saw them.

So, when he got home and put away his groceries (which mainly consisted of cereal, tea and cat food), he opened his printer and grabbed a handful of paper.

He took a sip of his iced coffee as he sat down at his coffee table, roughly scribbling out some details for what the poster might look like while Momo lazed in the sun, one ear twitching. It was quiet for a bit as Zuko scribbled out a few different compositions, his artist brain refusing to let this be a casual affair, before he was finally satisfied.

He took a sip of his coffee, holding the open bottle close to his face as he glanced over at Momo who had woken from his nap to bathe. "How's this: 'Is this your cat? If you think he might be, please contact me at xxxx xxx xxx. I will be quizzing you to make sure he’s yours, until then he is being looked after.'" Zuko looked up from his laptop, watching as Momo paused in washing his ears to offer a short  _ mrrp _ . He nodded to himself, reaching down to grab his phone from the floor. "Awesome."

"Now, stay still." He muttered a moment later, waiting for Momo to actually look at him and quickly taking a few photos before he moved again. "Thanks."

He printed the photo from his phone, forever grateful for the wonders of wireless technology, and glued it onto the poster. He waved his hand over it to get it to dry faster before showing Momo, deciding the cats gentle smooch against the page was enough approval, and standing up to photocopy it as many times as he could.

-

The next day was spent slapping posters on walls and lamp posts, using a mix of double-sided tape and regular masking tape, before he headed back home with an empty bag and the possible beginnings of sunburn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, thank you for reading!!
> 
> for anyone who's also reading 'it's just me and you' i'd like to apologise for the lack of update. i'm struggling a lot to get the current chapter finished because it's basically just a filler chapter and therefore i find it boring bc it's not helping the plot much,, it is almost finished though, and then i just have to edit and post but at the moment i'm not sure when that might be. for now, i hope this short and kinda random fic will tide you over

**Author's Note:**

> hello, this has been sitting in my google docs for awhile so i thought i'd start publishing in between updates for 'its just you and me'.
> 
> i'm really sorry about how long it's taking to update that by the way, i am once again going through some stuff and i can't get my brain to focus on it.
> 
> hope you're all doing well! thank you so much for reading xo
> 
> ps, if you wanna follow me on tumblr my url is @capt-snoozles!


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